Hurricane Florence expected to bring heavy rain

ATLANTA (AP) – National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham warned that Florence was forecast to slow down significantly once it reaches shore and linger over the Carolinas. Predictions for heavy rainfall stretched into West Virginia.

“When you stall a system like this and it moves real slow, some of that rainfall can extend well away from the center,” Graham said. “It’s not just the coast.”

He warned people living on the coasts and well inland to prepare to lose power, among other storm impacts. “Rain plus winds equals a lot of trees down and power outages that could be for an extended period of time,” Graham said.

Elsewhere in the busy tropics, Graham said Hurricane Isaac was expected to lose strength as it reaches the Caribbean, but it could still bring rain and strong winds to parts of Puerto Rico.